Choosing Freedom
by SyrupylikeBreakfastinMontag
Summary: CH. 3 NOW UP! After the war with Voldemort, Harry can finally start making decisions for himself. What will he decide when a certain blond tracks him down to apologize? Contains slash.  DM/HP HP/DM Draco/Harry Harry/Draco
1. Chapter 1: An Apology

Choosing Freedom

*Author's Note: This story takes place after the seventh book. I hope you like it!*

Draco stared at the wood of the door as though hoping his gaze would cause it to melt into its frame and vanish. Then Draco wouldn't have to knock. Then he wouldn't have to do what he had come here for. Malfoys were skilled at many things, but apologizing was not one of them, and as Draco reluctantly raised a fist to rap on the door, he felt his Malfoy pride screaming at him from his very core. But it had to be done. He knocked gingerly and then stood, waiting awkwardly as he heard a bustling of noise from within the apartment before him. The lock clicked as it was undone and the door swung open to reveal a rather disgruntled looking Ronald Weasley. Ron froze when he saw Draco, brows knitting together in a frown and eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Bugger off, Malfoy." Ron growled, glaring fiercely at Draco.

"Where's Potter?" asked Draco, a little thrown by someone unexpected answering the door. Ron's glare didn't falter, "He's not here Malfoy, so why don't you sod off." Draco opened his mouth, about to spit out a nasty retort when he was interrupted by a call from behind Ron.

"Who's at the door, Ron?" asked a voice from within the apartment before Hermione popped up beside Ron, peering curiously over Ron's shoulder. A flash of surprise crossed Hermione's porcelain features before she collected herself as asked stiffly, "Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

Draco turned to Hermione, ignoring Ron's continued glare, and said curtly, "I came here to talk to Potter."

"And what the fuck makes you think Harry wants to talk to a wanker like you?" hissed Ron, knuckles turning white with the force of his angry grip on the edge of the door. Hermione laid a pacifying hand on Ron's arm, looking intently at Draco.

"Why do you need to talk to Harry?" she asked. Draco fidgeted awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. This sort of thing did not come naturally to Draco; he wasn't used to having to swallow his pride.

"I owe him an apology." he finally muttered, looking down and flushing slightly in embarrassment. Ron snorted derisively, scoffing at Draco's words, but Hermione hushed him with a gentle squeeze on his arm. She was looking calculatingly at Draco, and when Draco glanced up to meet her gaze, he caught an amused and knowing twinkle in the depths of her brown eyes.

"He's not here," Hermione said calmly, "but you can find him at Artrich's Bluff." _Artich's Bluff_ Draco thought to himself before he nodded curtly, and, as an afterthought, reluctantly muttered a thank you. He then closed his eyes and spun on the spot, disapparating with a loud pop.

-XXXXXXXXXXX—

Harry lay staring up at the clouds as they made their way sluggishly across the blue expanse of sky above him. It felt so long since he'd been able to just sit back and watch the world go by without the weight of responsibility crushing his chest, making each breath heavy with worry and thoughts of his own fate. But now that final battle was nothing but a confused and muddled blur of fighting and fear in the back of Harry's memory, and he felt as light as those wisps of cloud drifting above him. He was finally free. He could finally do what he wanted, not what fate had laid out for him, or what others thought he should be doing. And right now, what Harry wanted was to just lie there and take in the feeling of being free.

The earth was damp beneath Harry, making it felt cool on his skin and he found that he didn't mind being covered in mud if it meant lying here like this. Blades of grass tickled Harry's cheek as they swayed in the light breeze, and a slow smile spread across Harry's lips. The quiet out here was so peaceful. It seemed like such a long time since things around him had really been quiet: no shouted curses, or cries of pain, just the soft rustle of the wind in the grass. He had missed it. The quiet Harry was appreciating was soon broken, however, by a loud pop and Harry groaned. He had come out here to be alone, why couldn't people just bloody leave him be? Well, whoever had just apparated here would have to just come over here if they wanted to talk to him, 'cause Harry would be damned if he was going to get up now, not when the sun felt so nice playing across his upturned face. A shadow fell across Harry's features as the person who had arrived leaned over his sprawling form.

"Nice to know our savior is putting himself to good work." came an all too familiar drawl, and Harry's eyes snapped open to see the angled features of Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy?" Harry spluttered in surprise as he stared up into Draco's grey eyes, "What are you doing here?" Draco was the last person Harry was expecting to see all the way out here. Clearly, Draco had sought out Harry's company, although why he would have done this evaded Harry completely. Draco smirked slightly at the stunned look on Harry's face, but the amused expression was soon wiped from Draco's face to be replaced with a nervous frown when he remembered why it was that he had come.

"I need to talk to you." he said quietly, uncomfortably averting his gaze from Harry's. Harry frowned, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He had never seen Draco nervous before, angry and malicious, yes, but he had never seen him looking this uncomfortable.

"Well," said Harry, trying to hide his apprehension by making his tone sound annoyed, "what do you have to say?" Draco fidgeted awkwardly, running his thumb nervously over his knuckles. He then inhaled sharply, shoving his shoulders back to stand up completely straight and composing himself. Draco made himself look straight into Harry's curious green stare as he said, "I owe you an apology Potter." Harry baulked, completely knocked off guard. Harry wasn't sure what he'd been expecting Draco to say, but an apology was definitely not it. He wasn't even sure sorry was in Draco's vocabulary.

"I made many bad choices during this war, well they weren't really my choices, they were more orders, others' assumptions about what I would choose that I had to follow, but I didn't disobey them, so I guess I have to take responsibility for them. I did a lot of things for my family that I regret now, that I even regretted at the time, and they ended up hurting you. And I'm sorry for that. I thought I had to, that I had no choice. Everyone had already decided for me what I was gonna do, and I, well, I thought I had to go along with it. I thought I had no choice, that it had been decided for me, but I realize now that I did have a choice. I could have left. I could have taken my family and run into hiding. Or at least, I probably could have. I could have taken mother at least, but father might not have come. He would have thought it weak. He would've been too bloody proud to consider running." Draco knew that he was beginning to ramble and shook his head slightly, forcing himself to get back to the subject at hand, "But anyway, my point is, I did things that caused people to be hurt, that caused people to be killed, and that hurt you. And for that I am sorry. I apologize, Potter." Draco made himself look straight into Harry's eyes, made himself face the entirety of his apology head on. This had to mean something, and he would not let himself hide from accepting responsibility for his actions by looking away at his own feet. He had to face Harry.

Harry sat frozen, staring in complete shock into Draco's determined gaze. He had no idea how to respond to this. It was so much to process, and it took Harry a moment before he was able to collect himself enough to form a reply, "I, um, thanks Malfoy. I never would have expected to hear that from you." The two sat there for a long, awkward moment before Draco finally asked, "Why did you come all the way out here? When I went to your apartment, Granger and the Weasel just told me I could find you here."

Harry smiled a little to himself, tilting his head back to look wistfully up into the sky again. "It's peaceful out here." he said softly, "I just needed to get away from it all for a bit, ya know? And it's nice out here. No one telling me what I should do, what I have to do." Draco smiled a sad little smile. He knew exactly why that would be appealing.

"No one telling you what to do." Draco murmured as he sat himself down beside Harry, ignoring his usual qualms about getting dirt on his expensive robes, "That sure sounds nice." The two sat in comfortable silence for a minute before Draco said quietly, "I was so scared. My whole family was telling me what I had to do, but I didn't want to do it. I was afraid. But then I had started it and even though I knew then that I wanted to stop, that it was too much, the time to turn back had long since passed. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had my family. If I failed or faltered he would kill them and me. I knew that. But I stilled caused people to die. My actions killed people. I didn't do it directly, but I enabled others to kill them. I let the deatheaters into the castle." Harry watched Draco calculatingly as he spoke. The bond boy was staring out across the field of gently swaying grass, his expression intent and frowning. His grey eyes, usually filled with anger, just looked sad, defeated.

"I know what you mean." Harry replied gently, empathy for Draco swelling within him. He had felt exactly the same way after the battle, until he had resigned himself to the fact that deaths could not have been avoided during the war and released himself of the responsibility. "People fought for me, trying to save me, to keep me from Voldemort. People died for me, too many people. I thought for the longest time that it was my fault. A part of me still feels guilty for their deaths. But Voldemort was the one who caused this whole thing. Without him, none of this would have happened. No one would have died. You just have to remember that." Draco turned to look at Harry, and he melted slightly at the compassion he saw in Harry's eyes, such intense, green eyes.

"I'm not saying you did nothing wrong," continued Harry, "but you did what you thought you had to do. You were trying to save your family, and you shouldn't blame yourself for that. We were both just caught up in something so much bigger than us, too big for any one person to deal with."

"But that's just it!" exclaimed Draco in frustration, angry with himself, "You dealt with it. You had to deal with this whole thing too, and you didn't crack."

"I had help." said Harry, "From my friends, from Dumbledore, even from Snape. I could never have done it on my own. And anyways, our situations were very different. I didn't have my whole family telling me to join Voldemort." Draco flinched at the name, but otherwise kept his eyes solidly locked on Harry. He chuckled slightly, a small smile gracing his lips.

"I guess you're right." He said, examining Harry's face for a second before smiling again, bigger this time, "You're not so bad Potter." Harry smiled back.

"You're not so bad yourself Malfoy." The two sat smiling contentedly at each other for a moment, before Harry sighed and got to his feet.

"Ugh." grimaced Draco as he observed Harry's dirt coated clothing from lying on the ground, "You're covered in mud Potter." Harry frowned, looking down at his own mud soaked figure for a second before a mischievous glint sparked in his eyes and he looked over at Draco. Draco's eyes widened in horror.

"You wouldn't-" he began, but was unable to finish that sentence as Harry pounced, shoving the squirming and screeching blond down into the mud Harry had just been lying in. Draco sat back up glowering intensely and coated in a slick film of dark mud while Harry laughed his arse off, clutching his sides from the force of his laughter.

"You prat." hissed Draco, glaring fiercely up at the cackling boy wonder. His usually perfect blond hair was sticking together in dark clumps and death shot from his eyes towards Harry. Harry's laughter finally subsided to slight giggles and he began walking towards the tent he had set up for himself here, gesturing for Draco to follow him, "Come on." he called after him, "I have a shower in here. You can use it to wash the mud off." Draco got to his feet and followed Harry into the tent, grumbling to himself about "damn wankers who think they can get away with anything they bloody well please."

Harry began peeling his mud soaked cloak off himself once he heard the water start in the bathroom. He had finished getting changed and was setting a kettle on the stove to make some tea when Draco emerged from the bathroom, dripping wet and with just a towel slung low around his hips.

"I'm feeling right knackered," complained Draco as he brushed his damp hair back from his face, "Do you realize how long it took me to get that mud out of my hair? I swear that stuff was magically bound to each bloody strand." Harry did not register a word of this, however. His attention was focused on a droplet of water sliding over the chiseled planes of Draco's pale chest. The brazen droplet slithered down over Draco's abdomen to skitter right next to a thin trail of fine blond hairs starting just beneath Draco's navel and disappearing into the white fluffy towel tied around Draco's hips. For some reason, Harry couldn't take his eyes off it.

"Oy, Potter! Are you listening to a word I'm saying?" asked Draco irritably. The prat was the reason he had needed to scrub mud out of his hair in the first place, he could at least have the decency to listen when Draco complained about it.

"Huh?" muttered Harry dazedly, as he stared at Draco's naked chest as though in a stupor. Draco smirked, taking a swaggering step towards the stunned Boy-Who-Lived.

"See something you like?" he drawled teasingly, dropping his voice to a husky purr as he brought himself mere inches away from the dazed Harry. Harry shook his head, trying to make himself snap out of it, but now Draco was right in front of him, so close he could smell the crisp scent of the soap he had used. And no matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from the soft curve of Draco's lips as the blonde smirked confidently at him. And then Harry made a decision, and leaned forward, pressing his lips to the other boy's. Draco gasped slightly despite himself. He hadn't expected Harry to actually kiss him, he had just been teasing him, but there were Harry's lips, pressing hungrily against his own, and then Harry's tongue was swiping along the seam of Draco's lips and he didn't care anymore about what he had expected. Then hands were roaming over the slick skin of his back, sliding down the ridges of his spine to rest on the towel covered swell of his arse. Draco gasped when Harry gave it a playful squeeze and pulled back from the kiss to look in surprise at Harry.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Draco gasped, and Harry smirked, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Making a choice for myself for once." he replied smoothly and kissed Draco again, smiling smugly when the blond moaned softly into the kiss. But Malfoys were never the kind to simply roll over and let others take control. Draco snarled slightly into the kiss, pressing Harry back until he slammed into the kitchen counter. He lightly nipped Harry's bottom lip, smirking to himself when the other boy gasped. Hands tugged demandingly at the bottom of Harry's shirt and in seconds it was being yanked over the boy's shaggy head to reveal a stretch of tanned skin and muscles well toned from hours of Quiditch practice. Like everything else between Draco and Harry had been, this was a competition: who could strip the other fastest, who could elicit the loudest moans from the other, who could make the other lose the most control, until the pair were gasping and writhing against each other, each clutching the other desperately to them as their hips ground needily against each other. Harry let out a low moan, feeling heat pooling rapidly behind his navel until it was too much and he was spilling his seed out onto Draco's exposed chest. Draco rutted against his a few more times before hot liquid splashed across Harry's stomach and the pair were left clutched in each other's arms and panting heavily.

Draco smiled slightly, leaning down to kiss the corner of Harry's lips affectionately, "Well, if that's the way you're gonna accept my apologies, maybe I should say I'm sorry more often." Harry laughed, smiling happily up into Draco's grey eyes.

"Why yes, yes I think you should." He felt so free at that moment. He had no idea where this would lead his relationship with Draco, it was too soon to tell, but not knowing was the best thing in the world right then. There was no fate, no decisions already made for him, just endless possibility. Harry had so many choices he could make right now, so he chose to lean forward and kiss Draco again, feeling the blonde smile into the kiss and hug Harry tighter against him.

*Author's Note: Thank you for reading my story! I hope you liked it! Please review! Also, I'm taking requests for stories, so if u have one, please just let me know. Thank you!*

(P.S. I know Draco could have just used a cleaning spell to get the mud off, but where would the fun have been in that hmmm?)


	2. Chapter 2: The Letter

Choosing Freedom

Chapter Two

*Author's Note: I was just going to leave this story as a one shot, but something sparked in me and I'm now seeing a multi-chapter for this story. I hope you all enjoy this next addition to the story!*

Harry awoke to an indignant cry of: "Something bit me! Something bloody bit me!" Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Harry rolled over to see Draco sitting straight up in bed beside him and staring in horror at a pink bump marring the pale skin of his arm.

"One of the hazards of camping Malfoy." muttered Harry as he attempted to stifle a yawn. Draco just continued to frown down at the little bump, glowering to himself. Malfoys were unused to the uncomforts of camping. Draco was used to sleeping in luxury, not waking up to cold air seeping through the thin canvas of the tent, or the dampness of morning dew, and he was definitely not used to creatures biting him in the night. Magical though this tent may be, it was still a tent and this was still camping. Harry laughed at Draco's angry expression, kicking the covers off himself and getting up to stroll over to the kitchen section of the tent.

"You hungry?" he called back over his shoulder, flinging open the fridge and grabbing a carton of eggs. Draco sighed, glancing reproachfully down at his bug bite one last time before he got up and joined Harry in the kitchen. Draco came up behind Harry, smiling a little to himself when he saw that Harry had neglected to put some clothes on.

"Starved," he replied, wrapping his arms loosely around Harry's bare torso and pressing his cheek into Harry's neck, nuzzling the short hairs there, "but I don't recommend cooking like this. One splash of hot oil from cooking and I'll have a shrieking Potter to deal with."

"I would not shriek…" grumbled Harry, pouting a little as he plucked 4 eggs from their niches, "But point taken, could you grab me a shirt from the dresser over there?" Draco disentangled himself from Harry and walked over to the dresser, pulling out a faded blue t-shirt and tossing it to Harry who pulled it on over his head before turning back to his task of cooking the eggs. It had been almost a week since Draco had first found Harry in the field and apologized for his actions during the war, and during that week Draco had continuously told himself he would leave the little tent in the field in favor of returning to the comfort of Malfoy Manor, but every time he tried, some excuse came up for him to stay; usually a naked one with a sparkling green gaze. But now it had been just him, Harry and the endless sea of grass for too long, and even though Draco and Harry were both enjoying the freedom of being out here away from everything, people were probably starting to worry.

"You thought about when you're gonna go back? You know, rejoin the real world?" asked Draco as Harry placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. Harry frowned slightly, sitting down at the table next to Draco with his own plate of food.

"Honestly, I've been trying not to think about it." sighed Harry, picking absently at his food as he spoke, "I don't want to go back to where everyone is telling me what I'm supposed to do, expecting me to do all these things I don't want to."

"You know, just because someone is telling you what you should do doesn't mean you have to listen. You don't have to save the world anymore Potter." Draco said through a bite of eggs, "Just because you're returning to normal life doesn't mean you are giving up the power to make your own decisions. It's your life now, and you can do whatever you want with it." Harry looked up at Draco, watching the boy rapidly consume his breakfast before he nodded a little to himself.

"You're right." he said decisively, "I'll pack up today."

"Glad to hear it." said Draco, finishing off his portion of eggs and eyeing Harry's hungrily.

"You know," grumbled Harry as he pushed the remnants of his breakfast over to the hungry boy, "I always assumed you would be a more dignified eater. Malfoy grace or something like that." Draco glared at Harry as he accepted his plate, muttering, "Oh sod off Potter. I'll eat as much as I bloody well please." before he dug into Harry's leftovers.

-XXXXXXXXXX-

Harry and Draco stood staring at where the tent had been. It had been a surprising hassle to pack it up since Harry had needed to gather all of his personal items like his clothing and toiletries before they could spell the tent into a neatly folded pile of cloth and poles, and the prat kept forgetting things so they would have to spell the tent up all over again to go back in and get whatever item it was that he had forgotten.

"Please tell me you have everything now?" grumbled Draco irritably as Harry stowed a portable razor in his dufflebag.

"Yeah," said Harry absently as he hoisted the duffle bag onto one shoulder, looking expectantly back and forth between the bag holding the tent and Draco several times before the other boy sighed and picked it up. It was surprisingly light for holding a fully functioning kitchen and bathroom.

"I suppose this means you expect me to come with you, wherever it is you're going?" asked Draco as he shifted the tent in his arms to get a better hold on it. Harry flushed slightly, awkwardly shifting his weight from foot to foot before looking almost shyly up at Draco.

"I was kind of hoping you would," he admitted, "I don't want to face going back to the real world alone. If you could just, you know, stay with me for the first couple of hours of so I would really appreciate it." Draco smiled affectionately at the hopeful expression on Harry's questioning face and crossed the distance between them in two long strides, reaching out to take hold of Harry's free hand.

"Lead on then, Potter." he said and the pair spun on the spot, leaving Artrich's Bluff behind with a loud pop. The pair appeared suddenly on the doorstep of what Draco recognized with a groan to be the Burrow.

"Really Potter, is it your intention to torture me?" grumbled Draco, glaring reproachfully over at the clearly very amused Boy Who Lived.

'Of course not, Malfoy." Harry replied, widening his eyes innocently, and when Draco just continued to glare daggers at him, he couldn't help bursting out laughing.

"Don't worry," Harry said as his giggles subsided and he knocked on the door, "It should just be Mrs. Weasley and the baby home right now. Mr. Weasley is at work, and all the Weasley children have their own places to live now."

"Coming, just a minute!" came a cheery cry from inside the house, and Harry squeezed Draco's hand once before dropping it. No need to give Mrs. Weasley something more to think about.

"Honestly, with the house so empty I would be really worried about Mrs. Weasley getting lonely if it weren't for the baby." Harry whispered as a clammer of noise from inside signaled Mrs. Weasley's approach, "But little Teddy keeps her so busy I don't think she has time to really register that everyone has moved out. Besides, everyone visits pretty frequently."

_A baby?_ thought Draco curiously. Surely the Weasleys were done producing ginger spawn at their age? Draco had just opened his mouth to ask about this, however, when the door was flung open to reveal the chipper figure of Mrs. Weasley. She beamed when she saw Harry and rushed forward, enveloping him in an enthusiastic hug.

"Harry, dear, I'm so glad you stopped by!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley as she cupped Harry's cheeks in her hands, "and you brought-" Mrs. Weasley's sentence stuttered out when she saw Draco, but she quickly recovered herself, "Mr. Malfoy. Welcome. Do come in you two, I was just making myself some lunch. Can I get you two anything?"

"Whatever you're making will be fine, Molly." smiled Harry as he followed Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen, Draco trailing grudgingly along behind him. Mrs. Weasley had just turned to the stove to check on the progress of lunch, however, when a loud wailing poured into the room through an open door.

"Oh dear, that'll be the baby. The little tyke is still having problems staying asleep for his naps." said Mrs. Weasley as she looked in frustration between the food that needed her attention and the open door. Harry quickly walked passed her, waving her away as he said, "Don't worry about it Molly. I'll go get him." Harry emerged from the other room a minute later carrying what Draco immediately deemed to be a diapered ball of trouble. Harry just laughed at the worried expression on Draco's face.

"Malfoy, meet Teddy Tonks." Harry said formally as he lightly gripped the baby's pudgy arm and made it wave, bouncing the baby on his hip.

"Tonks?" murmured Draco in surprise, "so this is Professor Lupin and Nymphadora Tonk's son?" As if in answer to Draco's question, the baby's hair promptly turned blue and he giggled, reaching out with stubby fingers to grab a fistful of Harry's unruly hair, attempting to tug it into his mouth.

'Ouch! You little bugger! Don't you get my hair all spitty!"Harry chided as he attempted to extricate himself from the baby's determined hold.

"Oh, Harry dear," said Mrs. Weasley as she waved her wand and caused a knife to fly across the room to start slicing an onion, "It's about time for Teddy's next bottle. Could you possibly-?"

"Of course, Molly." replied Harry warmly, successfully pulling his hair free from Teddy's grabbing fingers, and looking over at Draco in a way that Draco knew spelled trouble.

"Hey Malfoy, do you mind holding Teddy for a minute while I go prepare his formula?" asked Harry, proffering the baby to Draco hopefully. Draco looked as though he had been slapped in the face.

"You want me to what?" asked Draco in shock, but before he could protest any further, the baby was thrust into his arms.

"Don't worry Malfoy. Teddy won't bite. Well, actually I can't promise that, that baby does try and get everything in his mouth, but still, you'll be fine. It's just for like a minute." said Harry as he turned to head back into the other room where the baby's supplies were kept, leaving Draco alone with the baby. Draco stared at the wriggling baby in his arms like he expected it to explode at any moment, keeping it determinedly at arms' length. Teddy just giggled at him, reaching out his little hands towards Draco's face, a wide grin splitting his rounded features. Draco just continued to stare at him in wide-eyed horror until holding the baby so far from him became too much of a pain, and he had to reluctantly bring the baby to rest on his hip. Teddy gurgled happily to himself, reaching out to scrunch up the fabric of Draco's robes in his chubby fists. Finally, after what seemed like ages to the horrified Draco, Harry came back into the room bearing a small bottle of formula.

"Please, take it back!" Draco cried in desperation when he saw Harry, thrusting the baby at him. Harry laughed at the look on Draco's face, smirking wickedly and making no move to take the squirming Teddy.

"What? You don't want to feed him yourself?" asked Harry in amusement, jokingly proffering the bottle. Draco just shook his head furiously, still holding out the baby who soon began to fuss, scrunching up his face in preparation for annoyed tears. Harry, seeing the danger, quickly stepped forward to take the impatient baby, cradling Teddy's round form to his chest and poking the nipple of the bottle between the baby's lips. Teddy instantly calmed, and, having gotten what he wanted, he now lay as complacently as could be, looking up at Harry through wide eyes that kept changing color like a mood ring.

Draco examined Harry as the other boy cooed contentedly at the baby held in his arms. He seemed perfectly fine. Now that Harry had actually taken the leap and left the clearing, he didn't seem like he particularly needed any moral support, and besides, Draco was feeling incredibly uncomfortable in the Weasleys' home. He had made fun of this building and even the friendly woman making him food so many times back at school that being a guest here just did not seem right, so Draco got to his feet, giving Harry one last look before he said, "Well, now that I have delivered Potter safely, I should probably go. Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Weasley." Mrs. Weasley turned around in slight surprise at this news and smiled warmly at Draco, prompting a twinge of guilt within the blond for ever insulting the woman.

"So soon? Well, it was a pleasure having you Mr. Malfoy. I hope you get home safely." she said kindly before a spluttering from the pot behind her tore her attention away from the blond who used her distraction to steal a quick peck from Harry.

"You know where to find me, Potter." he whispered in Harry's ear before grimacing at the baby and taking his leave, disapparating on the spot. He landed just outside the austere gates of Malfoy Manor. It really was a stark contrast to the small but welcoming home he had just been in; Malfoy Manor was everything the Burrow was not, huge, fancy, cold, and generally uninviting, but it was home, and it had been home his whole life. He strutted up the paved walk way, shooing an indignant albino peacock out of his way as he approached the door.

He didn't bother to call out news of his arrival. This wasn't an "I'm home!" sort of place. Indeed, everything felt incredibly still inside the manor. It felt as though Draco were the only thing alive in this sea of gray stone and luxurious furniture that was all more for looking at than for actually using. It was rather like being in a museum after closing hours, really. A sniffle from the corner nearly made Draco jump. He would have sworn no one else was in the room. He quickly spun around to see the dejected form of his mother, hunched over a table. She was holding a letter in her pallid hand, but she didn't seem to really see it. Her gaze was miles away, and Draco saw with growing fear that her eyes were red and blotchy. He had never seen his mother cry before; she had always been so composed when he saw her.

"Mother?" Draco asked tentatively, taking a worried step towards her broken figure, "What's wrong?" Narcissa Malfoy didn't even move, as though she couldn't make herself tear her eyes away from the neat loops of ink on the parchment in her hand.

"It's your father, Draco." she murmured, finally looking up to meet her son's terrified gaze, "His trial has ended and they've arrived at an," her face twitched in anger at the word, "_appropriate_ sentence for your father." Draco stood stock still as he waited for her to continue. It felt as if time had slowed, as if his very heartbeat was holding its breath for the words he knew were about to come.

"He's been sentenced to the dementor's kiss." And then breathing didn't seem possible ever again.

*Author's Note: Aaah, the melodrama. What will happen next for our couple? Guess you'll have to wait to find out. Please review for me! I need to keep up my enthusiasm to add quickly to this story, and reviews really help that process! (wink wink nudge nudge) ;D Also if anyone has any requests about things they want to happen in this story, I may be able to incorporate them. Thank you very much guys!*


	3. Chapter 3: Let's Play a Little Game

Choosing Freedom Chapter 3

*Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for the great feedback and the interest in my story! I really appreciate hearing your comments on my writing! Well, here's the next installment, I updated nice and quickly for you guys! :D*

"Malfoy, I came as soon as I heard." exclaimed Harry as he burst into Draco's bedroom in Malfoy Manor, nodding politely to the house elf who had let him in as the elf bowed and left. Draco was sitting in a rigid looking arm chair, staring blankly at his pale hands clasped in his lap, a slight frown distorting his blond brows. He made himself look up when Harry entered though, trying to make himself smile, but only succeeding in producing a distorted grimace.

"Hey," Harry murmured softly as he approached Draco, reaching out to cup the other boy's wan cheek in his hand, "I know this must be really hard on you. I mean, it's your father after all." The pair stood there in awkward silence for a moment, Draco seemingly incapable of finding a response to Harry's statement. It was his father; this sort of feeling was too big for words.

"Um, do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked finally, unsure of what he should be doing to help the other boy. Comforting other people had never come easily to him. Usually when Ron or Hermione had been upset back in school, they had just wanted to be left alone to work it out, but that didn't seem like the thing to do in this case. But at Harry's words something flashed in Draco's grey eyes, and he quickly reached out, grabbing a fistful of Harry's robes and yanking the boy until their lips were almost touching.

"I don't want to bloody talk about it." muttered Draco before he crashed his lips down on Harry's. Draco didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it. He just wanted to forget for one blessed moment that his father was going to die, and that there was nothing he could do to stop it. Harry looked worriedly at Draco's closed lids for a moment before deciding to let it go and allowed his eyes to slip shut.

Draco nipped demandingly at Harry's lower lip before running his tongue over the abused area, causing Harry to gasp. Draco took this opportunity to slip his tongue inside Harry's mouth, simultaneously grappling with Harry's belt, tearing it off Harry like it had personally offended him. Trailing kisses down Harry's neck, Draco unfastened Harry's pants and jerked the zipper down harshly. Harry frowned nervously at the raw emotion spilling out of the other boy, but he could see that Draco did not want to address it, so he let it pass without comment.

Draco tugged Harry's shirt over the other boy's head and flung it on the ground, reaching out to shimmy Harry's pants down over his bony hips. Harry almost tenderly reciprocated, gently unbuttoning Draco's shirt and sliding it off the pale boy's shoulders. Draco growled, impatient with Harry's slow pace and shoved Harry back onto the bed, kicking off his own pants before clambering on top of the Boy Who Lived. A hand kneaded Harry through his boxers and Harry moaned quietly before rolling over so that he was on top of Draco, beginning to kiss his way down the pallid planes of Draco's chest, running the tip of his tongue over the ridges of muscle on Draco's well toned abdomen. The blond shivered in anticipation as nimble fingers pulled down the lip of his boxers and hot breath flushed across the tip of his painfully erect penis.

Harry looked up briefly at Draco's face and pity flooded through him when he saw the desperate fear and anger tingeing the lust in Draco's eyes. This was all just a distraction, a way of putting off the inevitable. Then the moment was over and Harry broke eye contact to lean down and swirl his tongue around the head of Draco's penis before dropping to take as much of Draco into his mouth as he could. Draco let out a sharp gasp as Harry began to bob his head, laving the underside of Draco's shaft with the flat of his tongue. Draco shuddered slightly under Harry's ministrations, tiny gasps and moans spilling from his lips, but when he felt himself getting close, he sat up and pushed Harry off of him, possessively climbing on top of the other boy.

He began to gently stroke the boy's shaft with one hand while grabbing his abandoned wand from the bed with the other and muttering a spell that coated his hand and part of Harry's stomach in a slick film of lubricant. He looked down into Harry's face for a minute and part of him suddenly felt calmed by the tender expression on the boy's face. Draco leaned down, kissing Harry needily, all teeth and tongues, while he slowly inserted one slippery finger into the boy's entrance. Harry frowned slightly, shifting uncomfortably.

"Damn Malfoy, that's bloody cold." Draco just smirked slightly and gently inserted a second finger into the Boy Who Lived, soothing Harry's hiss of pain by crooking his fingers and feeling around until Harry threw back his head and gasped loudly.

"There we go." muttered Draco, his smirk widening when Harry was unable to restrain a loud moan when he rubbed that spot inside him again. Now that Harry's mind had been successfully taken off the pain, he began to scissor his fingers inside the other boy, stretching him out until he could comfortably add a third finger. Finally, he with withdrew from Harry and pressed the weeping tip of his cock against the other boy's entrance. Even as well prepared as Harry was, he still winced when Draco began to push in, fingers forming fists in the silk sheets on either side of him. _Trust Malfoy to have silk sheets_ Harry thought absently before Draco pushed in all the way and he was unable to think anymore. His whole thought process was reduced to noting how Draco felt moving inside of him, the way the blonde's sweaty spine felt under the tips of his fingers, how Draco's hand erratically stroked Harry's bobbing cock, and how delicious Draco's moans were against his bruised and swollen lips. They ground against each other, Harry bucking his hips to meet Draco's thrusts until Harry couldn't take it anymore and came, crying a jumbled version of Draco's name. Feeling Harry's insides squeeze around his cock caused Draco to go over the edge as well, and he spilled out his seed into the other boy.

The two boys lay there for a minute sweaty and spent as they attempted to catch their breath. Harry looked down at the top of Malfoy's blond head lying on his chest, and reached out to affectionately stroke the boy's pale locks, wrapping his other arm snugly around Draco's torso. Finally, Draco spoke, refusing to look at Harry, his voice quavering slightly with each word, "He never was a very affectionate person. Malfoy pride made him... cold. He considered it undignified to show affection." Harry just continued to stroke Draco's hair soothingly as the boy spoke, keeping silent so as not to break the spell of calm that was allowing the boy to talk.

"He was never the kind of person to say he was proud of me, or that I was doing well." Draco continued, "It was just expected that I should do well, I am a Malfoy after all. It was all about the family name and power with him, and that was what made him go to Voldemort. He thought joining him would bring our name power, the respect our bloodline deserved. He did a lot of things that were horrible, that were unforgiveable, to people during the war. But he is my father. He is my father and I will always be connected to him." Harry pulled the other boy tighter against him as Draco's voice cracked slightly, but Draco managed to press on, "I will always be connected to him and now he's just going to be a shell: a body with no soul in it. His body will be there, looking at me through cold, dead eyes, but he won't be behind those eyes. He'll be gone. Forever." Draco finally made himself look up, meeting Harry's eyes, "And there is nothing I can do about it."

Harry didn't know what to say; there was nothing he could say. Everything Draco had just said was true, harsh and horrible, but true none the less, and nothing Harry could say would change that. There wasn't anything Harry could say that would make having Lucius Malfoy's soul sucked out of his body any better for Draco, so he kept quiet. He just held the blond boy to his chest tightly, the pair lying there in sad silence for several long minutes.

"I need to get out of here," Draco muttered at last, "I need to go out, to go do something. I need to get away from my thoughts." Harry just nodded, giving the top of Draco's head a soft kiss before letting the boy go so that they could both get up and start getting dressed.

"Got any idea where you want to go?" asked Harry as he pulled on his pants. Draco just shook his head, checking under the bed in search of a missing sock, "Nah, I don't. How about you? Got any ideas for something fun?" A slow smile spread across Harry's face, and when Draco looked up triumphantly holding the lost sock, a thrill of apprehension flooded through him.

-XXXXXXXXXX-

"Potter, what are those supposed to be?" asked Draco in horror as he stared at the multi-colored monstrosities in Harry's hands.

"They're bowling shoes." replied Harry mildly, looking down at what seemed like perfectly normal bowling shoes to him. Nothing to freak out over.

"Potter, you can't expect me to wear those things. They're absolutely hideous." said Draco in horror, looking down at the shoes as if he expected them to attack at any moment, "I already put on muggle clothes to come down here to this… bowling alley with you. Those um, shoes are asking too much."

"Oh come on," scoffed Harry, "these shoes were perfectly fine for the last like hundred people who rented them here."

"Woah, woah, woah, wait: these things are _used_." exclaimed Draco, raising his hands defensively between himself and Harry, "No way. Not gonna happen. A Malfoy does not wear someone else's cast offs. Ever."

"Fine," shrugged Harry, raising an eyebrow in amusement at the spoiled blonde, "but don't come complaining to me when your shoes are too slippery and you go sliding down the aisle." Draco frowned, clearly trying to decide which option would be less embarrassing before sighing and gesturing resignedly for Harry to hand over the two-toned shoes. One confused and frustrated Draco and several rounds of bowling later had Draco scowling profusely and Harry smirking broadly.

"This was a horrible idea, Potter." complained Draco after getting a gutter ball for the 9th time in a row. Harry just laughed, elbowing Draco in the side playfully as he waited for the pins to be cleared.

"I think someone's just upset because they're loosing." teased Harry before stepping up to take his turn, knocking over most of the pins except for a few stragglers on the left, "Bollocks." he muttered, "still no strike…"

"I don't know what you're complaining about." grumbled Draco, "At least you hit the pins." Harry just laughed, waiting for his ball to roll out so he could take the second part of his turn. Harry gripped the vibrantly purple ball and closed one eye as he ran up, beaming to himself when he saw that the ball was heading straight for the remaining pins. Then suddenly the ball quavered and shot sideways, sinking itself into the gutter. Harry turned around quickly, glaring daggers at Draco who was innocently examining one of his cuticles.

"That's cheating you wanker!" cried Harry, stalking angrily over to the blond boy who looked up at him with wide, confused eyes.

"What's cheating?" Draco asked calmly, unable to restrain the tiniest of smirks at the knowledge that Harry couldn't openly accuse him of using magic in a muggle area. Harry stared at Draco for a second, seeming to swell with anger before a smile cracked across his face and he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and doubling over with the force of it. Draco stood in shock for a moment, completely taken aback by this unexpected reaction.

"Man, you really can't handle losing can you." laughed Harry, smiling up at the indignant Draco. Draco opened his mouth to protest this statement, but decided against it, nodding wryly.

"It runs in the family." he quipped. Harry smiled up at him for a moment before he was disturbed by a buzzing in his pocket. He reached into his pocket and removed a small mobile phone, flipping open the screen and reading a new text message, his smile quickly ebbing away to be replaced by a worried frown.

"I guess it really does run in the family." he murmured quietly, looking up from the glowing screen to meet Draco's gaze, "Your dad has just escaped Azkaban."

*Author's Note: Well there you have it guys, the next installment in my story! I hope you enjoyed it! How will Draco's father's escape affect their relationship? You'll just have to find out next time! Please review; the more reviews I get the faster I write! ;P (totally willing to resort to blackmail haha) Thanks you guys *


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